He hadn't seen a more beautiful day in quite a while.
It was overcast, of course. The clouds were painted with slight traces of gray and the sun managed to peek through random gaps to bring forth little warmth down onto Konoha. Everyone else he could think of hated this kind of dreary weather, and they knew he loved it. But so what? That just made Shikamaru… Shikamaru! Nobody ever tried to change him. At least when it came to his tastes in weather.
I'm not the only one who likes this climate, the new Jounin reminded himself silently, as he stuffed his hands into his pockets and gazed up at the mid-afternoon sky. With his self-correction came a huge grin and his mind wandered to more pleasant things. He brought forth in his mind the image of a blonde woman from the sand country, three years older than him and definitely his motivation for recently becoming a Jounin. His newest catch was his complete opposite and yet somehow became the person he could relate to the most; like a rival. Which was exactly what Temari was to him. But she was also his girlfriend, and – another correction – his first catch. Ever. Once again, his brain buzzed with new-fangled thoughts.
Shikamaru stopped in his tracks to soak in a patch of sunshine. The warm weather was starting to disappear as cold, wet winds blew springtime away, and so he wanted to enjoy the heat for as much longer as possible. For the first time in his life, however, he was excited for the upcoming fall and winter duo; surely he and his first-time girlfriend would share memorable moments, cuddle by the fire, and make-out in a pile of snow once winter strolled along. Among other breath-taking things they could do together.
Every time he saw her now, he was hopeful that Temari didn't have any surprises up her sleeves – he still couldn't always understand what she was thinking at times, and it kind of freaked him out when he caught her eye and she was staring at him with that "I can't believe you just said that" sort of look. For a while he had been bored with trying to find a woman; they were too talkative, too evil and gossipy, too unbearable to be around when they were on their menstrual cycle. Not to mention how they liked to throw things at him. But when Temari came on that mission with him just a month and a half ago, she somehow interested him and attracted him and vexed him so much that he started losing sleep when he'd wake up from dreaming about her, and he couldn't eat breakfast because his belly was too antsy to digest anything as he pondered that dream.
He started walking again, hands still in their pockets, grin still on his face.
He passed by many unfamiliar faces as he traveled through the alleyways and main streets. He was oblivious to all of them, however, since he had a purpose for being out this time of day. That purpose was resolved when the fifteen year-old stopped on a certain doorstep and knocked eagerly, his tongue dancing inside of his mouth almost as if it knew what was coming. The door opened almost right away to reveal the only girl he was looking for, but it wasn't a reunion he had at all expected and maybe hoped for. Standing at the doorway was Temari. In her hands, however, was a large suitcase – the single one she had that she had brought from Sunagakure.
"What's that?" Shikamaru demanded, looking down with a grimace at Temari's right hand, which held the luggage. He felt a mixture of many emotions; but mostly he was embarrassed to realize how much of a horndog he was being; their relationship was more than just lip and lust. He couldn't seem to get enough of her, though.
The kunoichi saw the dreadful look on her friend's face, and she smiled. Under different circumstances, Shikamaru would have been able to tell the smile on her face was indeed mischievous. "My stuff," she said, emotionlessly. She had wiped the smile off of her face.
She watched as he shifted nervously and caught her eye. She could tell he was very confused and frightened at the sight of her baggage and that he was trying to hide it. But emotion was impossible for him to hide now; she had him written like a book. She was proud of that, too.
"Don't worry. I'm not leaving yet," she assured him quickly. She was done with the joke. Didn't want her new boyfriend to die so soon, after all. She almost felt bad when she saw the obvious look of relief on his face, but she handed him her bag instead of saying sorry for the mean prank. "Listen, Tenten is on a mission. Tsunade has offered me a guesthouse in the main quarters of the village, and I accepted the offer. Take me there?"
Temari had been living with Tenten's family for her entire stay in Konoha as an ambassador. Perhaps she was fitting so well into the ambassador role that Tsunade insisted she deserved her own place, which she did, of course. Or it was probably because Suna and Konoha were trying to reform their old alliance and Tsunade wanted to give the respected care that was due. Besides, the Hokage and the Suna ambassador got along well - with all those facts in place, Shikamaru wasn't surprised at the generous offer from Lady Tsunade.
Being the gentlemen he was, he took her bag and watched her step down to the dirt ground, studying her curves underneath her kimono. Why did she have to be so good looking? Someone was going to notice sooner or later just how much he was staring at her.
He didn't feel like he was the one being gross in this relationship. Temari had proven herself to be the aggressor in many situations.
The couple walked in silence together towards Temari's new place. They said nothing and just enjoyed one another's company, taking relaxed steps. They never liked to rush the time they spent together. Minutes later, they were walking through tall, cherry, oak wood doors, which looked very fancy and possibly expensive.
"Wow. This place is huge," Temari said quietly, looking around at the tall walls and lavishly decorated rooms. Chandeliers hung from the grooved ceilings, accenting the beautifully painted, textured walls. A magnificent, ancient-looking table was the first thing that appealed to Temari's teal eyes. She rushed over towards it and gawked at the smooth surface, running her hand down a chair.
Shikamaru carried her bag further through the house, taking in the sights and smells. Temari was very cultured and sophisticated, but in an elegantly humble way. It was hard to guess whether or not she'd like having this wonderful place to herself.
He had fully circled the house and its every room when he ventured back to Temari, who was now studying the kitchen.
"There's two master bedrooms, five bathrooms, a study room, and, of course, the kitchen," he told her, with a small smile on his face.
She looked over at him, her face sparkling. She was excited. It made his heart race when he realized she looked exactly how she did that day they saw those whales on the Usuras' boat, when they were traveling to the Land of Snow. And he cherished that look.
"I put your things in the last room on the right," he continued, pointing down a wide hallway. "The view is amazing there."
She furrowed her brows and glanced towards a window, tiptoeing around Shikamaru curiously. "What view?"
His eyes then glowed when he took her hand and led her towards a double-door entryway, opening it to pull the blonde woman through. It led to the backyard of the guesthouse - if you could really call it a backyard. A garden was more like it.
It was closed in by a tall, white picket fence for privacy; and maybe to compliment the plethora of colors that blinded the couple at first when they stepped fully into the sunlight. To the right, there was a thicket of red roses. Straight across, there was a small pond full of orange and white fish. The pond was decorated with beautiful white lilies, and surrounding them were purple flowers, orange flowers, violet flowers - Shikamaru lost track of the colors and just watched Temari's reaction.
"They're gorgeous! How do they take care of all these flowers? And so flawlessly! I can't believe she let me stay here! I don't even…I don't even know what which ones are my favorites! I love it!"
She spun around in a quick 360 degrees, but stopped when she was facing in Shikamaru's direction. She caught his eye and saw he was grinning from ear to ear, and it was too contagious to resist. She smiled back at him and took a deep breath to relax herself. The excitement of this new guesthouse had been overwhelming for a brief moment but now she had other things on her mind.
"Want to get some dinner together?" he asked her quietly, rocking on his heels with his hands in his pockets. The mood was heavy in the air; he was desperate for more of her company. She probably was, too, he thought.
She placed a hand on her hip and leaned her weight to one foot - a gesture that made him wonder what she had planned for him. Whether or not it was going to be something good, well, he'd take his chances since it would be worth the risk.
"I'll cook you dinner tonight in my new kitchen," she said softly, a breeze blowing the hair out of her face. He watched her brush some strands behind her ear, and dug his hands deeper into their pockets.
Dinner on her? At her place? Surely that wasn't all she had planned, he thought suspiciously as he looked her up and down with his dark eyes. He waited for the catch,
"…As long as you help me cook the meal, that is."
An hour later, the man and woman were standing inside the kitchen, which had been freshly stocked with foods of all kinds when servants had prepared the house for her. After scouring what was available, Temari had pulled out a few ingredients from the fridge and the pantries while Shikamaru watched with interest. As soon as everything was ready on the counter, he had realized that she picked a very sentimental meal.
Now they were in the process of making the Nikujaga, the beef and potato stew that Aruki and Temari had prepared for Genzi, Jerome, and Shikamaru the night they had come home from the all day search for Ruka. The beef had been cut and now they Shikamaru was cooking the rice while Temari stuffed potatoes inside an oven.
"I love your cooking," Shikamaru admitted, staring down at the pot he was currently using. "And this has got to be even tastier than that fried fish you made for me that one day."
Temari stood up and wiped sweat off of her brow; the oven's hot air had rushed around her face and suffocated her. She smiled breathlessly at her comrade's back. For some reason, knowing that Shikamaru was a fan of her cooking just made her twinkle with enthusiasm.
"Well, we'll see if I love yours in a few minutes," she said, carrying a small sack of flour from one counter to another. It was getting dark outside, the room glowing with traces of orange and pink light from the sunset outside the windows. They'd be completely finished and eating in less than an hour, and she couldn't wait. Although, she was having fun cooking with her boyfriend, she had to admit.
He took a moment to walk away from the rice and stood behind her, watching over her shoulder as she opened the packet of flour and poured it into a bowl very professional-like. "Cooking is troublesome. It wasn't meant for me," he said as he reached down for the empty flour bag.
She laughed and watched him curiously as he shoved a hand inside of the bag. He had no idea what he was doing. But she got the hint when, seconds later, he was smearing a flour-covered hand all over her face very playfully. She snatched the bag away from him and tried to retaliate, tearing at the plastic with mutilating nails.
In moments he was covered in white powder and the kitchen was even dirtier than before.
They were sitting outside now, with bowls in their hands, enjoying their food in front of the setting sun.
It was so peaceful in the garden, too, and the food was delicious. It was becoming his new favorite dish, he determined, but he might have a biased reason for loving it so much.
"Well, today has been one of the best days ever," Temari said, smiling as she plucked a piece of beef and carrots into her mouth. Shikamaru studied the traces of flour that still lingered on her face and in her hair and on her clothes as she melted into the flavor of their homemade Nikujaga. "We may have trashed the kitchen with our incessant flirting, but it will be worth the hour of cleaning it will take."
She looked over at him, an array of colors reflected in her eyes. He caught her eye and they stared at each other in a silence that seemed to last longer than it really did.
"If anybody saw you right now, they'd wonder why Suna picked such an Ambassador to represent their respected country," Shikamaru teased, referring to her messy state. Temari leaned backwards with a quiet but gut-wrenching laughter, putting her bowl in the grass. She took in a breath and looked back over at him with an equally humorous stare.
"If anybody saw you, it wouldn't phase them, since you've always been a slob."
He grinned and looked down at his feet, in a relaxed mood. Ever since Tsunade had told him that he'd be getting tons of more missions, the last month had been relatively quiet. Both he and Temari had things to do every once in a while, but it felt like they had spent every waking moment of the month together - and neither of them were tired of each other.
Minutes later, Shikamaru was getting up.
"It's getting late," he said, offering her a hand to help her up. She picked up both empty bowls and brushed grass off of her kimono, feeling a small twinge of sadness that another night had already come and gone.
"Yeah. Thanks for bringing me here and then helping to cook dinner. I enjoyed it."
She watched, however, as he reached into his pocket and pulled something out. When he reached his hand out to her, she gasped when she saw what was laying there in his palm, sparkling in small rays of starlight. It was small, made of gold, and had a beautiful emerald fused into its center.
"I want you to have it, Temari," he said, looking at her face as she stared down at it in awe. He thought momentarily how the necklace he was holding in his hand was the thing that had saved his life just days ago.
She looked up at him, confused. "Why would you give this to me? Genzi wanted you to have it."
He blinked softly and smiled toothily, reaching for her hand. He dropped the item into the palm of her hand and looked back to her face.
"It's a piece of jewelry, Temari. What am I going to do with it?" He shrugged it off like it was nothing, and was serious again. "Besides, I don't need any Heart of Gold. I've already got you."
She was still looking down at the gold piece of jewelry when Shikamaru hopped on top of a fencepost, looking down at her. His words mulled over in her brain and she felt her heart begin to race.
"I'll come by tomorrow," he promised. With a smirk, he was quickly gone and heading for home, leaving Temari in her backyard.
Hours later, Temari was asleep in one of the most comfortable beds she had ever slept on, clutching the gift from Shikamaru close to her heart.
Author's Note: Welcome back, avid AHoG shippers. This is the long-awaited sequel, as you already know. I can't wait to take you guys on an even greater Shikamaru x Temari journey!